Turkish Airlines is running a bonus promotion on miles purchase. As far as I know it is very rare, if not the first time ever in their history.
- Purchase by May 9th
- The bonus is staggered:
- 5,000 – 19,999 miles -10% bonus
- 20,000 – 49,999 miles – 30% bonus
- 50,000 – 79,999 miles – 60% bonus
- 80,000 – 99,999 miles – 100% bonus
- Bonus miles will arrive within 7 days, and valid through May 31st 2025
You essentially get 50% off at the top end, and pay 1.5c / 1.2p per mile. I have to be honest that I knew virtually nothing about Turkish’s Miles & Smiles before, but I did some research and my analysis is as follows.
[Redemption on Turkish]
This is the redemption chart for redeeming on Turkish Airlines itself:
There are two types of award tickets: Promotion which is a lot cheaper but limited in quantity; and standard which is much higher in inventory.
The standard awards are disproportionately expensive so you’d really only want to look at the Promotion tickets, which is more reasonably priced. You can explore with their search engine yourself, and here are some examples for business class awards:
- Istanbul – London: 25,000 miles + £69
- Istanbul – Dubai: 28,000 miles + £80
- Istanbul – Los Angeles: 65,000 miles + £204
- Shanghai – Istanbul: 65,000 miles + £209
- Dubai – London: 53,000 miles + £145
If your itinerary contains two or more legs, simply sum up the individual costs. Note that the price for Shanghai – Istanbul is theoretical only, as I couldn’t find any Promotion award on the Shanghai, Guangzhou or Beijing route!
[Redemption with Partners]
Turkish Airlines is a member of Star Alliance. Unfortunately they initiated a major devaluation earlier this year and there’s hardly any sweet spot any more. The only exception is for domestic flights, where they charge a constant price:
- Economy: 10,000 miles
- Business: 15,000 miles
- First: 20,000 miles
It is a great deal for travelling within countries with a massive territory such as United States and China, as it’s the same cost no matter how long or how many segments you travel. For China I can see many tickets from Air China and Shenzhen Airlines, but mostly in economy. For example Guangzhou to Urumqi:
The most extreme route would be from New York to Honolulu:
Before you decide to purchase, here are two reminders:
- Award tickets are cancellable for a cost of $70
- Turkish miles expire after three years – you can pay to extend the expiry but it’s very expensive
Third, fourth and fifth reminders:
– there was a major devaluation of the program roughly two months ago
– turkish customer service is horrible, if not the worst among the major airlines (if you don’t believe me, check out the horror stories on flyertalk)
– booking star alliance partner awards often results in tickets not being issued correctly and even if they are, good luck getting them re-issued if there is a schedule change
Thanks for sharing